Letter-file and cabinet



(No Model.) 3 sheets-Sheet 8.

A. L. GOLTON.

- LETTER FILE AND CABINET. No. 298,450. l Patented May 18, 1884.

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linnen STATES PATENT @Trica- ARTHUR L. COLTON, OF MILVAUKEE, VISCONSIN.

LETTER-FILE AND CABINET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 298,456, dated May 13, 1884.

Application viiled January 14, 1834. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR L. CoLToN, of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and tate of \Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Letter-Files and Cabinets; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to cabinets and files for holding document-envelopes, letters, postalcards, Src.; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective viewof my letter-tile and cabinet closed. Fig. 2 is a like view-of the same open and filled. Fig. 3 is a like view of the same partly filled. Fig. 4L is a perspective view of the empty cabinet. Fig. 5 is a top View of the letter-idle and contents removed from the cabinet and vtied up ready for tiling awayA independently position vertically within the cabinet 'when the latter is closed, and a is a staple or projection rising from near the inner rear part of the bottom oi' the cabinet, to retain the rear board of the letter-file in position, as herein after described.

B B are slats or strips,perforated with holes b b at desired intervals, and attached to the upper inner side edges of the case or cabinet A, but of less length than the sides, so as to leave spaces at each end of the strips, as shown.

To the front portion of the bottom of the case A there 'are secured eyebolts a3, made of wire, metal, or other material, the rings or eyes of which project forward beyond the front end of said case, and a2 a2 are other eyebolts or perforated lugs projepting from or close to the inner edges of the sides'of case A, their eyes being in line with the eyes ofthe bolts a3, and a4 is a stop projecting at a lower horizontal line from one of the said side pieces.

My letter-file consists, primarily, of a front board, C, and a rear board, C', made preferably of tar-board, stiff pasteboard, or other suitable material, (while my cabinet is ordina` rily made of wood, though it may be made of metal, pasteboard, or other material,)and between these boards G and C are the divisionsheets C2, ordinarily of stiff paper, and which 6oy are here shown aslettered with the letters of the alphabet in 'regular order, although they may instead be numbered or provided with any other distinguishing marks or labels, (such as the names ot' rms, the months,or other dates,) 65 so as to indicate the nature or classification of the contents to be placed between them. The front board, O, is provided with the holes c c near the center ot' its side edges, and with other holes, c c', near its bottom edge,through 7o which latter holes the eyebolts a, a3 are adapted to pass, as hereinafter explained, while the rea-r board,C',oi` the letter-tile has correspondingly-located holes c3 c3 and c4 c4, respectively. Each of the division-sheets G2 has near its bot- 75 tom edge two holes,cbv which areinline with the holes c/ c in the front board, C, and with the holes c4 c4 in the rear board,C,of the letterle. All of the holes in the letter-file are preferably protected by eyelets.

To the lower corners of the front board, C, there are attached buttons or belaying-pins D and E, (one of which is shown in section in the detailview, Fig. 9,) of the construction patented by me January 3, 1882, in my portfolio scrap-book,77 on which patent the present device is in part an improvement, and cords or tapes d ande, respectively, are attached to these belaying-pins, as follows: The tape disknotted at one end, and its other end is passed through 9o one of the holes in the shank of the belayingpin D, and thence through the hole c in the left-hand side of the front board, C, and then through the corresponding hole, c3, in the rear board, C', and down to and through the nearest 95 lower hole, c4, in said board, and forward again through all the holes c5 on that side ofthe division-sheets Cito the'correspondinghole,c,on that side of the front board, C, and thence vthrough the other hole in the shank of thebe- Ioo part thereof, just as in my previous patent already referred to. The cord or tape eis secured in asimilar manner, first to the belaying-pin E, and thence passed through the hole c on the right hand side of the front board, C, and through corresponding hole, c, in the back board, C', down to and through hole c* on that side, and forward aga-in' through the corresponding holes, c, in the division-sheets, and hole cin line therewith in the front board, and up to and through the other hole in the shank ofthe belayingpin E,where its end is knotted.

Fis another belaying-pin secured to the upper central part of the front board, C, and f is a cord or tape which is fastened to both the tapes d and e back of the rear board, C', but which is not used until the letter-tile is removed from the cabinet, when it is brought forward over the top of the file and contents, as shown in Figs. and 6, and secured to the belaying-pin F, in order to fasten the said letter-file securely whenv the le is to be put away independently of the cabinet; but when the letter-file is in the cabinet, in order to close the whole and fasten the cabinet, another cord, f, (which is secured to the hinged cover A of the cabinet,) is brought forward over the closed cover and wound around the belaying-pin F, and then carried under the catch F', secured to the said cover, thus fastening the cabinet and contents securely, as shown in Fig. l.

In Fig. 2 I have shown mydevice nearly lilled,whilein Fi g. 3 I have shown it about half full; but whatever the condition of the contents the front and rear boards, C and C', of the letter-file are always to be maintained in the same places while in the cabinet, sliding vertically to place, respectively just in front of and just behind the ends of the strips B, the lower part of the rear board being held behind the projection a, already named. Now,when only afew cards or envelopes, &c., have been put into the iile,it is desirable that the division-sheets C2 and theirinclosures should be kept snugly together in the front part of the rile, and as the said sheets C2 move freely on the cords d and e, which pass through the holes c5 c5 in said sheets, they can be readily brought forward, and to secure them at any required distance from the rear board, C', I employ the fastening device G, (made preferably of spring-wira) having bent or crank-shaped ends g, which are slipped into the required holes b b of the strips B B, as shown in Fig. 3, thus always keeping the division-sheets C and their inclosures snugly together in the front part of the cabinet, but always capable of adjustment (either expansion or contraction, according as papers are added to or taken from the file) by moving the crank ends g of the fastening device G into other holes, b, of the strips B, simply taking care that the said device shall always be back of the last division-sheet, C2.

NVhen the letter-file has been placed Within the cabinet, the rear board, C', will, as has been shown, tit between the rear wall of the case A and the projection a. and rear ends of thestrips B B, and then the front board, C, is slipped to place in front of the front ends of the strips B B, and so that the eyebolts a3 a shall project through the holes c c in the lower part of the said front board; and in order to ,secure the board in this position a pin, H, having a bent end or arm, h, is pushed through the eye in one of the lugs a2, thence through the eyes in the eyebolts a a, and then through the eye in the other lug a2, and then the arm 7L isturned down against the inner side of the stop a, thus securing the lower part of the front board firmly in place, as shown `in Figs. l and 2. l

I have shown my device in the shape and style particularly adapted for postal-cards, andwhen the cover A is turned back the cords d and e will be slack enough to permit the upper part of the front board to be pulled forward, so as to permit the postal-cards to be read or examined without removing them from their places, as clearly shown in Fig. 2; but of course my letter-tiles and cabinets may be made of any width or size desired, so as to hold letters, documentenvelopes, &c., this being merely a matter of degree and not requiring special illustration.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a slight modification in construction, which I will now describe. In, some instances it might happen that the weight of the cards, letters, or other inclosures, which would ordinarily rest on the tapes or cords d and e, would prove so great as to incur the danger of tearing out the eyeleted holes ci) in the lower portions of the divisionsheets C2. To guard against this I propose, in certain instances, to make the holes c c in downward projections of the said sheets, (which may-be either integral therewithvor separate tags secured thereto.) and to either IOO groove out the bottom of the case A or else add strips thereto, so as to form channels, in which the projections of the sheets O2, which contain the holes c5, may freely move, as shown in said Fig. 7, and in this case, as the tapes d and c would lie within said channels, the weight of the inclosures would not rest upon said tapes, but directly upon the bott-om of the case, above said tapes.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a spring, I, which may be used with my device when desired. This is made of spring-wire bent into the form shown, and secured by a staple, i, to the bottom of the case near one of the sidewalls, the upper end of this spring being connected to a link, I', which extends through one of the holes c in the front board, C, a bend or knob, v3,on the link serving to prevent its outer end from being drawn through the said hole,while the inner end of the link is hooked or otherwise connected to thetop of the spring I, as shown. The object of this spring is to automatically return the front board, C, to a ver tical position in thel case when it has been pulled forward, as shown in Fig. 2; and for the sake of greater clearness of illustration I have omitted the division-sheets C"2 in Figg 8.

IIO

One or two of these springs may be employed in every cabinet, as desired, according to the nature of the inclosures to be placed therein, and they will be found particularly useful when bulging document-envelopes are employed,where the contents would have a tendency to force the upper part of the front board outward.

Whenever the letter-file is completely full, if it is desired to retain the contents therein, the said le may be removed from the cabinet and secured as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and already described, and a fresh letter-file inserted in the cabinet in place thereof. Of course vmy letter-file may be used independently of its case or cabinet for certain purposes, (working exactly the same in either case;) but it is especially adapted for use in connection with the described cabinet.

It may happen that when the letter-le is only partially filled, for some reason, it is desired to file it away with its contents at such stage, and this can readily be done with my device by reason of the described adjustable tapes d and e, which can be wound around the shanks of their respective belaying-pins, thus drawing the rear board close up against the last division-sheet C2, and then tying up the package by means of the cordfand pin F, as already described, so that it is immaterial whether the said rile is almost empty or completely fulllat any period of its use, either in or out of the cabinet.

Having thus described myinvention, whatI claim. as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

I. In aille-cabinet, aletter-le consisting of front and rear boards and intermediate independent movable division-sheets bearing index or classification marks, in combination with adjustable supporting cords or tapes passing through holes in the boards and sheets, and securing devices, substantially as set forth.

2. A cabinet having open front and hinged cover, inner side strips of less length than the sides to which they are secured, and projections and eyebolts, in combination with aletter-le having front and rear boards adapted to be heldin position by means of the said 5o strips, projections, and eyebolts, intermediate independent movable division-sheets, adjustable supporting tapes or cords, and securing devices, substantially as set forth. J

3. rIhe combination, with a case or cabinet having perforated side strips, of a letter-file secured within said cabinet, and having movable division-sheets and an adjustable fastening device adapted to be secured in any of the perforations of the side strips, so asto be always just back of the last division-sheet, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4c. The `combination of the cabinet A, having eyebolts or perforated projections a2 a3, with a letter-file secured within said cabinet, and havinga front board provided with holes to receive the projections a3, and the fastening device H, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of the cabinet A, with hinged cover A', having braces a', catch F', and cord or tape f with a letter-file secured within said cabinet, and having a front board removably hinged to the bottom of the cabinet, and provided with a belaying-piu, F, substantially' as set forth.

6. The combination of the cabinet A and letter-tile secured within the same, having a front board removably hinged to the bottom of the cabinet, with the spring I and the link I', substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand,at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee 'and State of Visconsin, in the presence of' two witnesses.

ARTHUR L. GOLTON.

Witnesses:

STANLEY S. SToUT, H. G. UNDERwooD. 

